A/N: this is not edited... don't know what I think of it. Let me know if there's anything you're missing!
.......
She chickened out.
Nova chickened out of doing the one thing she traveled several miles to do. She went through twelve hours of traveling for her to chicken out.
When Nova saw her. Her heart pumped hard, it felt like it was going to explode. Her sweaty hands clenched into fists. Through the nerves Nova felt anger. Anger towards everyone around her.
Orion tried to get Nova out of the car, but he failed miserably. Even Alex couldn't do anything to get her out of the car. She thought she was ready to meet her, but she wasn't. Nova wasn't ready to comprehend the truth. Meeting her, forgiving her would mean that all of this mess actually was reality. It wasn't some fucked up nightmare she could wake up from. It was her life, her fucked up life.
After an hour of Nova refusing to exit the car. Carina decided that she probably needed some more time. She gave her daughter a sad but encouraging smile through the car window before she said bye and left with a man that had been standing patiently waiting for the reunion to happen.
Several hours later she laid alone in one of her brothers spear bedrooms. Alex had of course gotten another room since Orion definitely didn't want them to sleep in the same room, god forbid the same bed.
A low rustling noice outside the bedroom door got her attention. She turned around to check the time on the alarm clock. 07.30. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the soft pillow ten hours ago. After an exhausting travel day and then the attempt on a reunion, she had every right to be exhausted.
A sigh left her body as the sounds outside her room turned into voices. Sneaking out of the comforter and placing both her feet on the slightly chilly hardwood floor, she threw on some chill cloths before walking to her bedroom door. The voices still echoed through the apartment.
She was hesitant before she peaked her head out there was no one outside her door anymore. The door made a screeching. She grimaced at the slightly high obnoxious sound.
The voices she had heard from what she figured out was a bedroom stoped. They probably heard her not so subtle attempt to be silent. A head peeked out from another room a few meters down the hallway.
Orion stepped out with a smile on his face. Who was he talking to? He turned around to close the door before he beckoned his little sister to come over to where he was. Nova hesitated. She didn't want it to be awkward. She hated awkward situations and tried to avoid them as much as she could.
She felt uncomfortable, they where just standing there staring at each other. She knew she had to say something. Lucky the slight pressure she felt in her bladder made a good excuse to not go over to her brother.
Nova cleared her raspy morning throat. "Where is the bathroom?" She asked her brother. Her voice came out a little less confident than she wanted, but she blamed it on being to early in the morning. The thought was followed by a visible yawn.
Orion chuckled at his tired sister. He dabbed his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing towards the room he just exited. "It's occupied at the moment, but we have a toilet in the hallway."
Confusion filled her face as she looked at him. Who had he been in the bathroom with? It surly was not Alex. Judging by the time he hadn't even opened his eyes for the day. Orion's friend left after helping carrying in the luggage so it couldn't be him either.
As if seeing the wheels in her head turn, Orion let out a soft laugh. Once again he tried to get the girl to follow him. This time he did something that was out of character even for him. He used to do it all the time when Nova was little, he even remember doing it with Hunter and Phoenix. He stretched his arm out and wiggled his hand for Nova to hold onto.
The girl who had started to move closer towards him, desperate for a toilet, stopped in her tracks. She looked dumbfounded at the outstretched hand. Orion quickly caught onto his mistake, hurriedly he pulled his hand to his chest and started playing with a ring on his finger. A tinge of red painted his cheeks. It wasn't to noticeable, but nonetheless Nova saw it.
Orion cleared his throat embarrassed. "The toilet is this way." He bobbed his head in the direction of the conjoined kitchen and living room witch Nova guessed they had to go through to get to the hallway.
Only their footsteps could be heard hitting the hardwood floor. That was a big difference from the carpeted floors back in America. There was so many differences. In a way, after being here less than twenty-four hours, Nova could understand what kept her brothers here for so long.
"...right in there." Orions voice got Nova out of her head. He had opened the door to a small toilet. It was only space for one in there. It wasn't even a sink.
"Where do I wash my hands?" Nova mumbled dumb-folded. She stepped in to the little room, closing the door behind her.
"In the kitchen sink or in the bathroom." Orions muffled answer got to her through the now closed door.
After doing her business, feeling much better than before, Nova walked out of the tiny bathroom. She was hyper aware of her 'dirty' hands, she needed to wash them as soon as possible. Every door she opened she tackled with her elbow. The big bathroom was still occupied so she had to use the sink in the kitchen. Luckily she managed to do that quite easily.
She turned away from the sink to dry off her hands on a towel. Meeting her was a big, light living room. The kitchen she stood in was quite spacious too, it did not look this big when they arrived last night. On the other side was a big balcony. Orion was leaning his weight on the railing, a cup of coffee cupped between his hands.
A rustling noise came from the bathroom, before the door opened. Nova caught eye contact with the mystery person.
"You remember Pablo, right?" Orion had joined them inside.
"Yes." The girl gave a curt nod before smiling at him.
Pablo had arrived just a few minutes before Nova woke up. They didn't see why Pablo had to be in Seattle while Orion was in Italy.
Pablo only had a towel hanging loosely around his lower body. He didn't expect anyone else to wake up in the short time he was in the bathroom. A tiny blush made itself known on his face.
"Hi! Sorry, I should get dressed." He excused himself before walking in to the room across from the bathroom. That's probably their bedroom, Nova guessed.
Then they were two... again. The awkward silence between the two siblings laid thick in the room.
All Orion wanted was for things to go back to normal. He hated that she was so mad at him. All the man had looked forward to was crushed as soon as they landed in America for the first time in twelve years. He knew Nova was older then when they first left, but her dissliking them so much wasn't something he was prepared for.
He had made up scenarios of what he hoped would happen when they saw each other again. Nova might not remember, but for the first four years of her life, she was glued to his hip. It hurt him that she didn't want anything to do with him now.
The first scenario he had made up was Orion coming out of the security with open arms while she ran towards him to give him the biggest welcoming hug. Orion had to admit he liked that scenario.
The second scenario was the one he didn't like too much. It was him coming towards his little sister with a big smile, ready to get a hug. But in this scenario she was too shy to even look up at him and Vulcan. They could see her hiding away from them behind their father, while he told them, "It's been so long, let her warm up to you". That one he hated. She was never shy in front of her brothers.
Orion was happy the second one didn't occur, however he was little disappointed that the first one didn't happen, and extremely bummed about her not being at the airport at all. And never in a million years had he made up a scenario that ended up with the two of them being in Italy again two days after landing in America.
Nova caught Orion looking at her. His eyes sparkled with adoration as memories from a time before everything was so complicated for the little girl swirled in his mind.
The girl got a little too uncomfortable. She cleared her throat, successfully snapping Orion out of it.
"Sorry." He mumbled softly. "Do you want anything to eat? I'm not a big breakfast person, but if you're hungry I can make something for you to eat." Orion walked over to kitchen getting out everything he needed to make some delicious pancakes.
Nova only shrugged, walking out of the kitchen, creating space between the two of them. She could still see and hear him, but she wasn't ready to be too close. A hurt look flashed over Orions face. He stopped what he was doing for a few seconds before he masked it with his soft smile.
"I'll make some pancakes. If I know teenage boys right I know Alex want some when he wakes up." He smiled, but was still hurt by his sister's rejection. "Oh! Carina called she wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go for a small walk together today." The hand mixer turned on right after Orion made the announcement. Nova was left to decide if she was ready.
.......
She was ready.
...Almost ready, she just needed her shoes.
"Nova!" Her name was yelled from outside her bedroom. She had been cooped up in there for several hours after she said yes to go for a walk with Carina.
After the doorbell rang, indicating that someone was waiting for her, came the second thoughts about all of this.
"Nova." The calm voice of Alex came through the door. "Can I come in." A small yes was heard before the boy opened the door.
He was met with Nova running around like a headless chicken trying to find something.
"I can't find my shoes!" She threw clothes and pillows around the room to try find her shoes.
"Jesus, how do you manage to get a room this messy after one night?" Alex asked, joining her on the mission to find her shoes. He only needed to take a step forward. There they were. He picked them up before giving it to a calmer Nova.
"What if she don't like me." Nova blurted out. She watched as Alex comprehended what she had said.
"Impossible. It's Impossible to not like you, Nova. And this is your mother. She already love you, I'm sure." Alex leaned over an kissed Nova on the forehead. She leaned into his embrace before a loud sigh escaped her.
The two of them walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the front door. A young woman was leaning against the doorframe while talking to Orion, both had smiles on their faces. Their conversation was cut short when they saw Nova and Alex coming towards them.
The woman's eyes glistened with tears as she watched her daughter walk towards her for the first time in fifteen years. Last time she saw her she was still waddling around, falling every third step she took. Not now. What seemed like beautiful, confident young woman walked towards her. She felt so proud.
"Hi, Nova." She breathed out. Her voice low, full of emotions.
"Hi." Nova greeted, not to talkative at the moment.
"Are you ready to go?" Carina new she needed to be the leader now. She was prepared to not get too many answers from the girl. She would have a monologue if she needed to. As long as she was accompanied by her daughter.
"I think so."